The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has urged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to immediately inaugurate its 17-member governing board, warning that the prolonged delay breaches the NSC Establishment Act 2023 and threatens transparency in sports administration.
In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by SWAN Secretary-General, Ambassador Ikenna Okonkwo, on behalf of President Isaiah Benjamin, the association noted that the NSC has been operating without a statutory board since its creation in October 2024.
“As a statutory board member of the NSC, I am compelled to urge the Chairman and Director-General to take all necessary steps to inaugurate the board without further delay,” Benjamin said. “Operating without a duly constituted board for nearly a year is not only a breach of the law but also undermines transparency and accountability.”
Quoting Section 2(1) of the NSC Establishment Act, SWAN stressed that the board must include representatives from government ministries, sports bodies, the organised private sector, academia, the medical field, the military, persons with disabilities, the Nigeria Football Federation, the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria, and SWAN itself.
The association further warned that all major decisions taken by the Commission since October 2024 “lack legal backing” and linked the absence of a board to wider governance challenges in Nigerian sports, including ongoing disputes within the Nigeria Football Federation and controversies over the Athletics Federation of Nigeria elections.
“The NSC cannot continue to function as a two-man entity comprising only the Chairman and the Director-General, while 15 other constitutionally mandated positions remain unfilled,” Benjamin stated, adding that the issue would remain “on the front burner until the law is obeyed.”
SWAN also criticised its exclusion from operational decisions, particularly in appointing qualified communication managers for sports federations — a move it argued would improve media coverage, enhance promotion, and attract sponsorship.
The association condemned what it described as a “political or non-professional approach” in the Commission’s daily operations, insisting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of the NSC was intended to accelerate and modernise sports development, free from the bureaucratic bottlenecks of the past.